Swords - what's there to say about them? Nobody uses them anymore, which is a real shame. Swords remind us of an age when men were men, and they focused on really manly things, like chivalry, honor and killing a man with a single blow. Alas, those days are gone, and swords have retired from the battlefield.

But they do live on in one place - our hearts and minds. There's something innately satisfying about the simplicity and elegance of a sword, and the ritual of one-on-one combat, of people testing their mettle mano y mano. To that end, they live on in our culture, and by extension in our...

Darth Vader. Michael Corleone. Frodo. All legendary cinematic characters and all first made famous by a Hollywood trilogy. Sure, every movie allows viewers to escape the real world into the land of their imagination for a little while, but there's something special about a set of movies that comes in three. Trilogies tend to have bigger, more elaborate worlds with finer details you won't find in your run of the mill two hour flick.

Here are 10 of the greatest trilogies of all time that any reputable movie buff must check off their watch list.

The first official trailer for the second film in Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy, The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug, has finally arrived.

The trailer is voiced over by the Elvenking Thranduil (Lee Pace), who asks, "Where does your journey end? You seek that which would bestow upon you the right to rule. The quest to reclaim a homeland and slay a dragon."

From the look of the trailer, the next film promises plenty more action than the first installment, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, beginning with the dwarves making their escape from the Wood Elves and culminating with the first goo...

Three days before "Hobbit Day" Warner Bros. films has given us an early present: the second full trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (watch it below!)

While the first 2:27 clip introduced us to the Dwarf party and a few of the familiar locales from J.R.R. Tolkien's classic -- such as Hobbiton, Rivendell and Gollum's cave -- the second 2:32 trailer is filled with plenty of action.

But while the wizard Gandalf explains that the "dwarves are determined to reclaim their homeland" in the Lonely Mountain, there's still no mention of its current inhabitant -- the dragon Smaug.

The Expendables 2 comes out this weekend, featuring an ensemble cast of action stars from the past 30 years. It got us thinking: What were the best ensemble casts in recent films? Here's our list:

The Magnificent Seven: Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Charles Bronson, Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, James Coburn, Brad Dexter, Horst Buchholtz. This western remake of Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" featured some of the greatest action stars of their generation - certainly an Expendables of the time. It's the second most shown film on television, next to "The Wizard of Oz."...

The Hunger Games hits theaters Friday in what looks to be a battle for box office gold (it’s already sold more pre-sale tickets than any of the Twilight movies, according to Fandango). And while it’s current 100 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes is reassuring, anxious fans still have a week to go before they’ll know for sure if director Gary Ross paid good enough tribute to Suzanne Collins’ literary franchise.

Before then, let’s take a look back at Hollywood’s best and worst popular franchise adaptations...

Peter Jackson has completed the star-studded cast of "The Hobbit" after signing up Billy Connolly to play a dwarf warrior.

The actor will tackle the role of Dain Ironfoot and joins Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood and Orlando Bloom in the director's "Lord of the Rings" prequel.

Jackson tells The Hollywood Reporter, "We could not think of a more fitting actor to play Dain Ironfoot, the staunchest and toughest of Dwarves, than Billy Connelly, the Big Yin himself. With Billy stepping into this role, the cast of The Hobbit is now complete. We can't wait to see him on the Battlefield!"

An open audition for Peter Jackson's new The Hobbit movie had to be shut down on Saturday after more than 3,000 hopefuls turned up.

The director is currently in New Zealand filming the two-part Lord of the Rings prequel, which stars Martin Freeman, and a casting call for a part in the film attracted thousands of applicants over the weekend.

Producers expected around 1,000 wannabes to turn out for the auditions in Lower Hutt, near the capital city of Wellington, but they were overrun when more than 3,000 arrived.

Police were called to help control the crowds and the auditions were shut...

British movie tough guy Sean Bean has donned a dress for his new role as a transsexual in a U.K. TV show.

The actor is best known for his hardman roles in Sharpe, The Lord of the Rings franchise, and Bond movie Goldeneye, but he will show off his feminine side after pulling on a blonde wig and a sparkly sequin dress for new BBC drama Accused.

Bean will play a man going through a sex change who is caught up in a crime of passion in the courtroom drama, penned by respected screenwriter Jimmy McGovern.

The star says, "I've wanted to work on a Jimmy McGovern drama for a while and I think ...

Former Oscars host James Franco has urged Academy Awards voters to seriously consider his "Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes" co-star Andy Serkis for a Best Actor prize because the work the Brit is doing with motion capture animation is amazing.

Serkis shot to fame when he was transformed into the creepy Gollum in the "Lord of The Rings" trilogy and he has since given King Kong and "Planet of The Apes'" Caesar a face - and Franco insists his pioneering work will revolutionize Hollywood.

Franco says, "To me, it seems like such a shame that Andy doesn't get recognized now, because this is the ...

Actor Andy Serkis has been "bombarded" with letters from several movie animators accusing him of taking too much credit for his characters in motion-capture films.

The Brit has found fame with a series of motion-capture performances, playing Gollum in the Lord of the Rings series and the title character in 2005's King Kong remake. He embraced the technology again this year with roles in Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin.

However, Serkis reveals he has fallen foul of some experts who combined visual effects with his movements and facial expres...

Actor Viggo Mortensen has appealed to the family of Sigmund Freud's psychiatrist protege Carl Jung to release more letters of correspondence between the pair, because they make "fascinating" reading.

The Lord of the Rings star portrays famed psychoanalyst Freud in new drama A Dangerous Method, opposite Michael Fassbender as Jung, about the two medics' differing opinions about the treatment of a young patient, played by Keira Knightley.

Mortensen studied handwritten notes exchanged by the two doctors to help prepare for the role, but he wishes more personal letters from Jung were made av...

Kind-hearted Orlando Bloom has pledged to help Britain's endangered butterflies by backing his mother's campaign to raise awareness of the threatened insects.

The actor has sponsored children's book Crystal, the Small Miracle, which was written by his mom, Sonia Copeland Bloom, and is aimed at educating readers about the insect world.

He tells Press Association, "Butterflies are powerful symbols of the beauty and vulnerability of nature. The story of Crystal, the Small Miracle, written by my mother for children everywhere, reflects her own love of butterflies as well as her passion for ...

"Evangeline Lilly will be playing a new character—the Woodland Elf, Tauriel," director Peter Jackson announced on Facebook. "Her name means 'daughter of Mirkwood' and, beyond that, we must leave you guessing! (No, there is no romantic connection to Legolas.) What is not a secret is how talented and compelling an actress Evangeline is; we are thrilled and excited she will be the one to bring our first true Sylvan Elf to life."

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On June 28, Warner Home Video will release all three of Peter Jackson’s visual masterpieces on Blu-ray in a 15-disc stunning collection entitled "The Lord of the Rings The Motion Picture Trilogy: Extended Edition."

To celebrate the occasion, Warner Home Video has announced a count-down to "Middle-earth Midnight Madness" celebratory event at Best Buy’s West Los Angeles location, 11301 W. Pico Blvd., where fans can join in the anticipation of the magic moment when they’ll finally be able to own the new extended edition trilogy on Blu-ray.

Two crew members working on The Hobbit have been taken to the hospital after an explosion at the New Zealand studio where the movie is filming.

Emergency services were called to the Stone St Studios in Miramar on Tuesday morning after a blast in one of the workshops where technicians were working on a statue prop. Two men suffered minor burns and were transported by ambulance to a local hospital for treatment.

The Hobbit unit publicist Ceris Price tells the New Zealand Herald, "A couple of the guys... (were left with) mild burns but nothing serious... One of them had some burnt nostril ...

Saoirse Ronan has been forced to turn down a role in Lord Of The Rings prequel The Hobbit because of her busy schedule.

The Irish actress was in talks to reunite with her The Lovely Bones director Peter Jackson for the two-part project, which is currently filming in New Zealand, but Ronan has decided to pass on the offer.

She tells Digital Spy, "I won't be able to do The Hobbit unfortunately. I would have been tied up for quite a long period of time and there's a lot of projects in the meantime that are also really interesting and I'd like to be a part of."